The brownie analogy

[TheAnswerIs42]

I never, ever would have gone near being a model before having kids. But once you've been poked and prodded that much over a period of months, and then nursing a long time after that, you lose a bit of your self-consciousness. Or at least I did. But I do think I would be more comfortable with the bikini on than off. I wear a bikini whenever I am nowhere near Utah, to be honest, so that part isn't a big deal. And I've been naked enough for midwives and bikini waxers, but come to think of it, none of those were guys. Huh.

[krebscout]

One thing I will say for the BYU art department is that they provided us with a variety of shapes in their models...or, I suppose a variety of shapes applied for the job and the institution had little to do with that. Anyway, there was one particular girl who we drew a lot who was really lovely and had lots of rolls, and I actually found her to be a greater artistic challenge, had a hard time doing justice to her beauty while also being true to her curves. I always admired her guts, not just to be an almost-nude model but to be one who wasn't skinny. I always wanted confidence like that, and I think it's her confidence that helped her to be so lovely.

[Katya]

Obviously, I'd do it, but I'm a dude, so I don't have all those wierd body image issues. Well, I do, but I'm not supposed to, so I mask them with false bravado.

This is something I didn't learn until I was an adult, and I find it fascinating: Guys aren't necessarily less afraid/squeamish/self-conscious than girls in any particular situation, they're just not culturally allowed to act that way.

[NerdGirl]

One thing I will say for the BYU art department is that they provided us with a variety of shapes in their models...or, I suppose a variety of shapes applied for the job and the institution had little to do with that. Anyway, there was one particular girl who we drew a lot who was really lovely and had lots of rolls, and I actually found her to be a greater artistic challenge, had a hard time doing justice to her beauty while also being true to her curves. I always admired her guts, not just to be an almost-nude model but to be one who wasn't skinny. I always wanted confidence like that, and I think it's her confidence that helped her to be so lovely.

That might have been me! Probably not, because I was a model in 2002 and I think you aren't old enough that you were at BYU in 2002, but I am most definitely not skinny and art profs actually used to specifically request me to come back to their classes because their students had liked drawing me so much. Modeling actually helped me to become way more at peace with my body.

[Katya]

. . . art profs actually used to specifically request me to come back to their classes because their students had liked drawing me so much. Modeling actually helped me to become way more at peace with my body.

That's awesome. We should all become models!

[C is for]

We all should!!

Reminds me of ... shoot. An article I read a few weeks ago on some blog somewhere. Searching...

Oh, okay. It's not entirely relevant. But it still reminded me, so here you go.

[krebscout]

Yeah, I was in high school, and it wasn't you. I'm pretty sure you're caucasian, right? She was not, though I couldn't tell you what she was. But I'm really pleased to hear that.

[UffishThought]

SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTIES ARE THE WORST.

I don't know, I had one once that was fantastic. (Though I did accidentally learn about it ahead of time--sorry, krebscout.)

And I find the women's body-issue issue really fascinating. I don't know that I'd personally be all right posing nude, but I would like to be all right with it. Although I would like to say that I'm not affected by media portrayals of women, of course I am, and I really don't have much else to compare myself to. I remember at one point thinking "hey, I look like kind of like those old Greek statues and paintings! That was considered beautiful at one point. Hooray!" And one of my friends and I stumbled across some project that's essentially a gallery of naked (though not provocatively posed) women, and we spend a little over an hour clicking through them all. Maybe it could be problematic for some people, I guess, but for us it was fascinating and uplifting. I had never seen real women who are saggy or curvy or flat-chested or shaved or not or with scars or any of that before, and it was a shock to my system to look at all these women of all shapes and sizes and see that they're beautiful. And the ones who were most beautiful were not the ones who looked most like the women on billboards, they were the women who looked happiest.

[krebscout]

I don't think I remember being involved in a surprise party for you. The robot one? Man, I was obsessed with making weird cakes.

[UffishThought]

The robot one! The cake was cool, and I got Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots that people still go crazy about every time they walk into my house (thanks, Genuine!) and Optimistic made me a robot-themed music mix, and everyone drew me pictures of robots, and you guys rustled up friends of mine I didn't know you guys knew about. I felt very loved. (Also, it explained the conversation we had a few weeks earlier. "Robots or zombies?" "Robots. Why?" "No reason.")

[Katya]

On a more related note, as an artist I think I would feel less weird about just having the models be nude. But I am also going into a medical profession, so maybe naked people just don't freak me out at all.

You know, you could theoretically use the same argument against nudity in art as an argument against nakedness in the doctor's office:

"We try so hard to fight porn and stuff and we, as women in the church are always being told to keep our bodies covered. We aren’t even supposed to wear “tight or revealing clothing.” But, apparently, it’s alright for an LDS [doctor] to [view] a [naked] woman."

And there have been (and probably still are) cultures where it wasn't considered acceptable for a woman to be naked in front of a male doctor.

[thatonemom]

About the nude models...

My husband went to an art school before his mission and said he felt a little weird drawing nude models, but got past it quickly enough. I'm sure after the initial curiosity or shock of seeing the opposite sex naked wears off, everyone has basically the same anatomy. And apparently the models were all shapes and sizes and sagginess. (Here I thought everyone had body image issues. Apparently there were a lot of middle aged ladies who were very comfortable with themselves. Good for them.)

Anyway, post-mission he decided he wanted a different environment and came to BYU. I think he appreciated that there were no nude models here. At the art school, all he did was art. At BYU he'd go from figure drawing to American Heritage or whatever. Vey different mindset. Since graduating he's done several non-BYU workshops (in Provo) that had nude models and been fine enough with it.

I admit it used to bother me somewhat, because who wants their husband looking at other naked women? But eventually I realized a lot of the things J Kirk Richards pointed out in that post. Nakedness does not have to be sexual. While I wouldn't put up nude art in my house, it doesn't bother me that my husband draws undraped models because he wants to be a better artist. That being said, I would never be a nude model (even before I had kids and had the body of someone who hasn't grown small people...) Most of the artists at the workshops my husband's gone to were respectful, but there were always a couple people here and there who were basically pervy in their art, just drawing breasts or whatever and not actually focusing on the figure.

[NerdGirl]

Yeah, I was in high school, and it wasn't you. I'm pretty sure you're caucasian, right? She was not, though I couldn't tell you what she was. But I'm really pleased to hear that.

Yeah, I'm about as white as it gets. But it's definitely an interesting and self-esteem building experience to have people draw you, clothes or not. There were a lot of really talented artists in the classes I modeled for, and they were so good at capturing the emotion of a pose and the personality of the models. That might sound a little weird and abstract, but being drawn is very different than being photographed. It's really interesting to see how people draw you.